Oil Tanker Vanishes After Pirates Board Off West Africa

Singapore-flagged oil tanker Success 9 is missing off the coast of Africa after a suspected pirate attack, reported Bloomberg.

On Monday, approximately 300 nautical miles off the coast of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the automatic identification system (AIS) transmission for Success 9 went down.

Owners of Success 9 have been unable to contact the ship since it was boarded Monday night off Ivory Coast, according to a statement from the government of Singapore, where the vessel is registered. The incident is being treated as an act of piracy, according to General Boniface Konan, director of the maritime security center for West Africa, known as Cresmao. — Bloomberg 

Here are the last seven days of the vessel’s AIS data:

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said approximately 20 crew from various nationalities, including a Singapore citizen, are on board.

“MPA is working closely with the ship owner, Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and the Information Fusion Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre to monitor the situation and render the necessary assistance.”

The maritime news website gCaptain said this incident comes just weeks after the Dutch-owned tanker Monjasa Reformer was commandeered by pirates off the coast of the Republic of Congo in March.